Jorge Jesus' pre-match press conference ahead of trip to Madeira

Jorge Jesus was with the press this Friday to share his thoughts on what he believes will be a tough trip to Madeira. Affirming that his side will guarantee the full three points, the Sporting coach also dismissed the opportunity to comment on today's encounter between Benfica and FC Porto.

“This will be one of those typically difficult matches. Nacional are not an easy team to face and they have a coach that is doing a good job, but Sporting always has to play for the win. That is how we have looked at it since the start of the season and that is why we are in first. We want to keep in the fight for the title and to show we can come away with the points form these kinds of matches. Whatever happens between Benfica and FC Porto, what matters is that we win in Madeira", opened Jesus, going on to reveal that Naldo, Paulo Oliveira, Tobias Figueiredo, Jefferson and Bruno Paulista will all miss out through injury: "I wouldn't say we are having issues with injuries, because in 21 league matches, as well as in other competitions, we have Naldo, Jefferson and Paulo all fit. It is funny that injuries have only really hit centre-backs, at Benfica an FC Porto was well as Sporting."

In parallel, the Sporting coach added that the pressure of battling for the league title is also being felt elsewhere and that recent results have done little to take away from his side's confidence: "Against Rio Ave we had a lot of chance, but football can be like that. The fact that we have drawn two games doesn't mean that the team has lost quality and we played well in our last game. We have won a lot of games and have been consistently at the top of the league. We believe in our capacity to stay there."

To finish, Jesus also touched on William Carvalho's current form: "He hasn't been at the same level as say Adrien or João Mário who you also mentioned here today and we know why. It has nothing to do with his contract or his behaviour. He was out of competition for three months and he is looking for his best form, but we believe in him and we are counting on his input."

Nacional-Sporting CP will kick off at 18h30 on Saturday, in Estádio da Madeira.